Questioning everything

Satanic Statue at Arkansas?

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people who declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.

In 2015, The Governor of Arkansas signed a legislation allowing the construction of a Ten Commandments monument on state Capitol grounds, an act that many believe is a violation of the separation of church and state. But one group fights back: The Satanic Temple. The STT formally requested permission to place a “Baphomet” Statue alongside the Ten Commandments monument.

This is not the first time a religious monument has sparked controversy in Arkansas. Also in 2015, the Universal Society of Hinduism has requested to place a privately funded hindu statue on capitol grounds. The request was rejected because the group failed to apply through the general assembly or submit an application to Arkansas State Capitol Arts and Grounds commission. With that being said, will the Satanists be able to build their statue?

The Satanic Temple has already submitted to the Secretary of State. They received a request to provide more detailed information on the statue which they will be offering at the end of the week. In the description of the significance of Baphomet they write “Our monument will stand in honor of those unjustly accused — the slandered minority, the maligned outgroups — so that we might pay respect to their memory and celebrate our progress as a pluralistic nation founded on secular law.”

In the light of controversy, Arkansas lawmakers have suggested that the Ten Commandments monument be a historical significant monument rather than a legal one in an effort to build the monument legally because the Senate Bill 939, calls the Ten Commandments “an important component of the moral foundation of the laws and legal system of the United States of America and the State of Arkansas. Many are still questioning whether this is a violation of the seperation of church and state.

The Satanic Temple is a driving force behind the secularising of America. Satan to the STT means is the symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority, forever defending personal sovereignty even in the face of insurmountable odds. Satan is an icon for the unbowed will of the unsilenced inquirer… the heretic who questions sacred laws and rejects all tyrannical impositions. Satan to the STT is a symbol of rebellion towards christianity, Islam and other organized religions.